American Telephone Telegraph

The price increase would mean a 2% overall monthly increase in long-distance bills for the average customer, American Telephone & Telegraph said. The proposal, filed with the Federal Communications Commission, would reduce the discount on interstate long-distance calls after 11 p.m. and during weekends to 55% from 60%. AT&T asked the FCC to be make the raise effective April 6.

AT&T Promises Executive $17 Million to Remain at NCR: AT&T Corp., as part of its plan to spin off NCR Corp., promised Lars Nyberg about $17 million in cash and securities to remain as chairman and chief executive of the Dayton, Ohio, computer company. Nyberg, a native of Sweden, has already received salary and bonuses valued at $10.14 million since leaving Philips Electronics to join NCR last summer, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

AT&T Wants New Line of Business: American Telephone & Telegraph asked the federal court judge enforcing the judgment that led to the breakup of the Bell System to let it enter the electronic publishing field, providing information services over the nation's telephone network. It asked Judge Harold H. Greene not to renew a 7-year-old ban expiring in August that forbids AT&T to enter the emerging field.

Bowing to competitive pressures, long-distance giant AT&T on Tuesday offered a radically simplified pricing plan under which any direct-dialed long-distance call within the United States will cost 15 cents a minute. The new plan, which will be in addition to half a dozen existing AT&T pricing options, represents a dramatic attempt by the long-distance carrier to fend off small long-distance carriers that have grabbed more than $14 billion of the $80-billion long-distance market.

AT&T in Video Venture: A unit of American Telephone & Telegraph has teamed with a Silicon Valley company to develop new technology to send movies and television over ordinary telephone lines. The venture between AT&T Paradyne and Compression Labs in San Jose represents a potential threat to competing efforts by cable TV operators to bring similar video services to viewers over their systems.

AT&T and unions representing about 160,000 workers were near agreement on new contracts, resolving disputes over medical benefits and wages in a frenetic day of bargaining in Washington that brought the two sides so close the unions extended a midnight deadline. A final dispute over certain job-classification titles blocked a settlement. But, believing an agreement was at hand, the two unions agreed to bargain through the night. The agreement being worked out by American Telephone & Telegraph and the unions included a wage and profit-sharing package that should bring workers raises of more than 10% over three years, a source said.

FCC Allows AT&T Pricing Plan: The Federal Communications Commission said it denied a request to delay a new pricing scheme scheduled to go into effect July 1 for American Telephone & Telegraph. The requests for a stay had been filed in June by the Puerto Rico Telephone Co. and La Telefonica Larga Distancia, which had said the new plan to place a "cap" on the prices AT&T can charge would put the two firms at a competitive disadvantage. They also said the plan would harm the public interest.

The Italian telecommunications equipment maker Italtel on Monday signed an agreement with American Telephone & Telegraph for a far-reaching partnership in manufacturing and sales of equipment. Under the accord, AT&T will acquire 20% of Italtel. In exchange, Italtel's parent, the government-owned holding company Stet, will take a 20% share of AT&T-Network Systems International (ATT-NSI), a joint venture between AT&T and NV Philips of the Netherlands. In addition, AT&T has agreed to make a direct investment of almost $150 million in Italtel, said an official involved in the deal who requested anonymity.

The Communications Workers of America said its members are willing to strike AT&T if contract negotiations break down. By a 4-1 margin, members authorized CWA President Morton Bahr to launch a strike if he believes that it is necessary when the contract expires at midnight Saturday. Negotiations for a new three-year contract began March 30 between American Telephone & Telegraph and the company's two unions.

AT&T Asks PUC to Arbitrate PacBell Talks: The dispute between the long-distance company and the Baby Bell revolves around terms for linking their local networks in California. It means a months-long delay before New York-based AT&T Corp. can begin competing for local phone business in California.

AT&T Corp., which for weeks has been running TV ads depicting a futuristic era of go-anywhere communications, moved a step closer to that goal Friday as the Justice Department cleared the way for the company's $12.6-billion acquisition of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc.

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. sought Thursday to block Britain's largest long-distance carrier from setting up business in the United States unless AT&T gets equal access to Britain. In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T asked federal regulators to withhold permission for British Telecom North America to serve other countries from the United States.

AT&T in Video Venture: A unit of American Telephone & Telegraph has teamed with a Silicon Valley company to develop new technology to send movies and television over ordinary telephone lines. The venture between AT&T Paradyne and Compression Labs in San Jose represents a potential threat to competing efforts by cable TV operators to bring similar video services to viewers over their systems.

The nation's largest long-distance telephone company says management will step into union jobs to prevent disruption of phone service if workers go on strike when their contract expires tonight. American Telephone & Telegraph negotiators were trying Friday to settle on a new three-year contract with the company's 125,000 employees represented by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The Communications Workers of America said its members are willing to strike AT&T if contract negotiations break down. By a 4-1 margin, members authorized CWA President Morton Bahr to launch a strike if he believes that it is necessary when the contract expires at midnight Saturday. Negotiations for a new three-year contract began March 30 between American Telephone & Telegraph and the company's two unions.

American Telephone & Telegraph Co. said it will extend its toll-free 800 service to the United Kingdom on April 5. The service, which would allow a potential customer in Britain to call a U.S. business at the expense of the person receiving the call, costs $84 per cumulative hour or $1.40 per minute, AT&T said Wednesday. There is a monthly charge of $36.80 a month for connection to the AT&T network and an additional $50 a month for hook up to the British Telecommunications network.

MCI said Wednesday that it will offer a nationwide alternative to AT&T's toll-free 800 service early next year. American Telephone & Telegraph, which introduced the service in 1967, has a virtual lock on the $4-billion-a-year market. However, changes in local telephone switching systems make the complicated computerized call-routing technology available to AT&T's competitors.

The turmoil in the Soviet Union shows the value placed on international communications. AT&T wants the government to open additional satellite capacity to help unsnarl telephone traffic between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Some highlights: * CONTROL. The Federal Communications Commission controls access to satellite traffic. * CALLS. AT&T says call volume to the Soviet Union is about 25 times above average, about 13,000 calls an hour.